I haven't really thought about it until now, but there are lots of things I never knew until I had my own baby.
I'm not talking about things like newborns poop 24/7 or how to do everything with only one hand.
Scenario 1:
I had a conversation with an out of town friend who is pregnant and she mentioned that next time I'm in town we'll have to have a cook-out. She is due in June and we won't be back in Hometown USA until around 4th of July.
Before I had a kid I would not have even thought twice about this plan. Now that I have a kid, I know that when she has a one month old baby the last thing she's going to want to do is to host a BBQ at her house. More than likely they will both still be getting used to each other and the new challenges they're facing (i.e. sleeping, getting a shower, eating, etc.).
Scenario 2:
We know a couple stationed here from a previous duty station. She is pregnant and due in April. We've been trying to get together with them since we got her about a month ago. We've invited them over for dinner several times and our schedules have just not clicked.
They invited us to go out to dinner with them this weekend, which with an-almost-one-year-old is not really high on our list of fun ways to spend Friday night. We declined, explaining why and mentioned that lunch would be a whole heck of a lot easier for us, if they were up for it.
Last night D got a text from the guy, asking if we wanted to see a movie on Saturday (today).
Um. Really?
Don't get me wrong, I know that before you have kids there are a lot of things that you don't know and lots that you probably don't even think about (like how miserable it is to try and eat and entertain your tired, hungry, crabby 11-month-old in a restaurant while everyone glares at you...I'm not enjoying this either, people!).
Heck, I actually found it a little bit funny at first, making a comment to D along the lines of "they will find out soon enough!" That is until we got the movie invitation. I think that it is probably common sense to assume that if dinner out will be a challenge then a movie is simply out of the question.
We're not bummed out that we can't do these types of things anymore, we just accepted it as a part of parenthood. We actually like the fact that we rarely eat out anymore. It makes the times we do eat out that much more special (it also saves us a lot of money).
I know you want to look at this face while eating....So, you're welcome. We're the parents who don't force you to listen to our kid whine, scream and cry during your Friday night out!
**I should add that this post may sound a little snarky, but I really just thought it was funny!**
I love you. I love you for not bringing a fussy baby to a restaurant where I'm spending my hard earned money to relax and have a meal out. Normally I invite people over with kids to have dinner or we go to their house. I don't think I'd ever think about hitting a movie or eating out with a family with a little kid. I even bust out some toys for the little kids when they come over (and I don't have kids, but I do have toys for other people's kids to play with at my place). Again, I love you.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some really good points here. It is funny how people just don't get it until they have a kid. I mean...I know I don't actually have one either - but with how much I took care of A I know what you're talking about. The movie thing makes me laugh. :) And I think it's so sweet you know that your friend won't want to host a BBQ after she's had a baby - even though she doesn't know it yet. :)
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